Judge rules IKEA monkey must remain at sanctuary

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Judge rules IKEA monkey must remain at sanctuary

(CNN) — Ask friends whether they remember the IKEA monkey, and a few may nod tentatively.

The backstory: On a chilly December day in 2012, a small monkey dressed in a faux shearling coat and diaper appeared inside the doors of a Toronto IKEA store.

The animal appeared frantic, racing around the parking lot and near the store. It created quite a stir. Photos soon appeared on social media, with memes not far behind. A parody Twitter account quickly gained thousands of followers.

The story that emerged left the monkey’s caregiver, a real-estate lawyer named Yasmin Nakhuda, in a tough spot. She had reportedly obtained the Japanese snow macaque, named Darwin, illegally when he was just over a month old.

Videos on her YouTube channel provided glimpses of the next seven months, in which she described how often he ate and how much attention he required. But after Darwin’s public escape and appearance, she was fined and forced to hand Darwin over to animal services. Animal services quickly turned him over to the Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary.

Nakhuda vowed to get Darwin back and filed a lawsuit against the sanctuary. On Friday, a judge ruled against Nakhuda.